smartyibm

Yes, I bet it will be harder to use a standard award. It's almost impossible to use a 25K AA award since they offered a 50K anytime award many years ago. I bet WN now goes the same way.

iahphx

I guess AMEX didn't think to negotiate that. Or they didn't care how difficult it would be for their customers to use their miles.

Logic would say that it matters, though. I would think savvy frequent flyers avoid the Skymiles AMEX card because they're better off accumulating miles with an AA or UA card (the two legacy carriers with the best award availability).

Speaking of award availability, how often does WN not allocate award seats on a flight because they think they can sell all the seats (a common practice among the legacy carriers)? I was just booking some award travel for May yesterday (with the brand new schedule) and -- not surprisingly -- I found pretty much everything open. There was, however, one Sunday evening flight that had no availability. It actually surprised me (whereas when redeeming with a legacy carrier, I'm surprised when there ARE seats!).

Global_Hi_Flyer

It does now, but it didn't when I looked yesterday (or I may have outright overlooked it as I'd just gotten off an international flight - in which case it's my bad - but I don't think I missed it). I distinctly remember, however, that the display I pulled up had only the tick boxes, not the fares (sorta like a shortened version of the old display). I've looked again today, and see what you've described.

Then again, when I looked the account details page for my account was also not showing the A-List info that now appears, either.

I still don't see it as an improvement. I often want to know what the higher fare buckets are to see what happens if I want to wait or change flights. I also think the screen is more cluttered now, but c'est la vie.

pitflyer

Agreed. I have similar rules but it is based on fare code. Southwest can call it Business or Business Select or whatever, but in good conscience it is not business class and I would have no trouble booking either if I needed it.

nsx

There's one drawback: I sometimes buy a more expensive restrictive fare when my purchase is merely a tactic to combine unused ticketless funds. Combining funds will now be even more difficult, unless Southwest comes up with a web page specifically for that purpose.

SAT Lawyer

Agreed.

Better yet, WN should reverse its silly new policy of only allowing the aggregation of two separate ticketless travel funds in booking a new reservation. There is simply no good reason for WN preventing its customers from aggregating as many ticketless travel funds as they have, no matter how small they may be individually.

SAPMAN

I have not tried, but can you not buy a Refundable Fare with your credits and then put it back into Ticketless Funds (it would still be non refundable) keeping the earliest exp. date? If you are going to cancel the res anyway (why buy the more expensive tix to travel on), just look for busy dates or dates near current date and there will likely be higher fare categories.

SAPMAN

Global_Hi_Flyer

Yes, but if one has to put more $$$ into the pot, then I, for one, would prefer to keep that to a minimum. A higher restricted fare might limit the $$$ more than a refundable fare.

JohnDunn

These don't seem like "enhancements" to me.

The fares in my market (Bay Area) seemed to rise significantly with the web site change yesterday.

I just don't see true business travelers ever wanting to fly WN on flights longer than the SFO-LAX route for example. With the company paying for it and legacies offering such better perks (ie: Captain's Lounge, ability to use miles on international flights), I just don't see the point of WN alienating their current base and so obviously going strong for the business traveler.

I have talked to a handful of people in my office and with the exception of the reps who work mainly short haul flights, WN gets a laughable reaction. Personally, I love WN but if the company picks up the tab on a SFO-East Coast flight I will be flying Virgin/Jet Blue or American because of the various perks involved.

WN is great for weekend, family, cheap and short haul travel but they shouldn't be something they are not. The reason why I have been so loyal is because they are different and seem to cater to a different kind of traveler. When I go to In N Out I want a burger and fries. Don't try to make me a steak.

Hartmann

If WN flew non-stop to more places that I need to be, this might actually entice me. Since they don't, I am not too thrilled about it.

A partnership with one or more international carriers would be nice as well.

nsx

Let me clarify. If I have ticketless funds of $35 and $55, I'm looking for a $90 to $95 fare to combine these with minimal addition of money. That fare is easier to find if I have the full matrix of discount fares to choose from. The funds will remain non-refundable.

Bonehead

As a (very) occasional WN customer, a couple of thoughts.

1) Last-minute fares (B, BS) (no WGA fares available) are not competitive in the Denver-OKC market, based on one data point (a trip leaving next Monday and returning Tuesday night). WN = $427 vs F9 at $223 and UA at $329. Alarming. I always considered WN to be THE solution to the typically sky-high last-minute fares offered by other airlines.

2) With no FC cabin and no international access, I fail to see how one drink will entice travelers like me. This will be a very interesting experiment.

ETA: I might start with unlimited drinks for BS pax. After a few, they just might think that they are in FC, especially if they have clumped together in the front of the plane and start to party. Maybe a dedicated FA for them, patterned after the "Cathay Girls"? Just musing here, folks.

ETA2: If the flight is not full, the dedicated FA (aka "WN girl") could place a placard in all middle seats adjacent to BS pax that effectively keeps that seat unoccupied. NOW we're getting somewhere...

rove312

I wanted to look at the first matrix including a DING since the booking site redesign. On Dec. 6 there's a connection DEN-TUS connecting at LAS where Business is available, but Select is not. Would 15 BS seats already have been booked on one of these segments?

Bonehead

Yea, the 9:30 AM DEN-LAS is booked in BS. I wonder if that flight's a major connector from some other (large) market? I wouldn't think so, but who knows? What's especially odd is that the 7:10 AM is available for $49. Hard to believe that 15 people want the extra sleep THAT bad!